A shoulder strain may take 4-6 weeks to heal - depends on how badly it was sprained and under what circumstances. Also, it will need a combination of rest and exercise to heal. The x-rays were a good idea so you know nothing is broken. A full range of motion but with pain usually indicates inflammation. She may want to try an anti-inflammatory medicine like Aleve or Advil. I would think that the next step would be an MRI. This would look at the soft tissue like tendons, ligaments for inflammation and tears.
You should ask the doctor why he wants to do a bone scan - what is he looking for? It may be a good idea if he suspects infection or is looking for areas of new bone growth. Perhaps the x-rays weren't clear and he thinks it may be fractured now. Sometimes this does happen.
Also, sometimes physical therapy is needed to bring down the inflammation in the shoulder. I would think that she would be starting that soon as she's having trouble using it due to pain as long as another cause isn't found.
I hope she has a speedy recovery.

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Edited by opus2828 on February 3 2006 at 4:04 PM